On a Wing and a Prayer
by Saringold
Summary: Ace and Sabo have done everything together. They've stolen from the nobles of High Town, built up their own treasure hoard, and trounced the pirates and bandits of the Grey Terminal, but what's left to do? Why, build their own boat and have some "sailing practice!" Wait... who's that weird kid sleeping over on the deck? (Crossposted on Ao3)
1. The Best Cure for Boredom

Ace sighed as he wiped blood off of his pipe, tossing the dirty rag behind him as it landed on some other pile of trash. It was a quiet summer day like any other on Dawn Island; birds were singing, bandits were drinking, and two miscreants were abandoning their chores and complaining.

"There's nothing to do, Sabo. I'm bored."

Sabo rolled his eyes, cleaning off his own pipe in the process. "Trust me, I know. This is only the 20th time you've mentioned it."

Ace ignored him. "We beat up some bandits, hunted some animals, played pranks on Dadan, stole from some nobles, and had our 100th sparring match. It's not even sunset! What are we supposed to do?"

He drew out the "o" on that last word before it turned into a groan and he flopped back on top of the trash, closing his eyes to the sun on his face.

Sabo sighed. "Well, we could always just sail away," he muttered sarcastically.

Ace's eyes flew open as he registered the words. "That's it!"

Sabo turned to him, utterly baffled. "What's it?"

Ace just grinned at him as he said that, his smile as wide as the sea was blue, and Sabo felt that odd sense of anticipation in his stomach that he only got when his best friend was about to say something that was either utterly brilliant or downright stupid.

"Let's go sailing."

Sabo stared at him for a full minute before quirking an eyebrow. "We uh… in case you weren't aware, we don't have a boat, Ace."

It was Ace's turn to roll his eyes. "I know that, dumbass. Let's make one."

"Make one?"

"Yeah! We built our own treehouse from scratch; who says we have to wait to build our own boat?"

Sabo looked at him askance, a snide remark already forming on his lips, when he stopped. Ace watched intently as the gears turned in Sabo's head, and he could swear he heard the moment they stopped.

"Huh. Maybe we could."

"Right?! How hard can it be?"

Sabo begrudgingly had to admit that it looked like it was one of those brilliant moments after all. "Maybe one of the bookstores in High Town has something on shipbuilding. And before you ask, no, we can't just wing it, Ace. I'd rather not drown before I start writing my book."

Ace's mouth shut as soon as soon as Sabo intercepted his question. He let out a pout instead.

"Maybe I wasn't going to ask that."

Sabo snickered. "Sure, and maybe I'm not a-"

He cut himself off quickly, clapping a hand over his face. Ace turned to him quizzically, but he looked away.

"A...anyway. Let's go to High Town, ok? I wanna get some books that I know we'll need."

Ace grinned. "Right behind ya!"

* * *

"We're going to have to learn sometime, Ace!" Sabo yelled, waving a worn, yellowed copy of _The Essentials of Being a Sailor_ in Ace's face as the freckled boy recoiled and smacked the book away.

"I don't want to learn about the _boring_ stuff, asshat!" Ace retorted, gracing his best friend with a strong kick in the shin.

"Don't care!" Sabo replied, sticking his tongue out in retaliation. "The book says"—he brandished the book, shaking it slightly for emphasis and grimacing as a page fell out—"that we need to know the basics of navigation, shipbuilding, first aid, and, y'know, _actual sailing_ before we set out. We don't need—"

"We'll pick up a bunch of it as we go!" Ace interrupted. "And besides, just 'cause we weren't taught anything about sailing doesn't mean we can't; it's not like shitty gramps will teach us anything 'before we're old enough' anyway," he complained, his voice deepening in a poor mockery of Garp the Fist.

Sabo just sighed before shaking his head, smiling. "Then I guess you're in luck, Ace," Sabo smirked, tipping his top hot to his hot-headed friend. "I've been reading about the finer points of sailing from the books we stole, and I think I understand the basics. I'll show you how it's done once we get on board."

Ace grinned back. "Yes! You're the best, Sabo!" he cheered, before looking away, slightly embarrassed.

Sabo also turned away, pleased. He knew he'd do anything for Ace, and staying up late every night that week in order to learn every nautical term in the book was nothing compared to Ace's happy smile.

* * *

The next day saw the two boys at the dump grabbing planks, paddles, nails, and cloth to begin constructing their ship. Several of the regulars shook their heads at the boys' antics; the two were familiar faces to the many bandits and pirates in Grey Terminal, but this was the first time in a long while that they had seen the brats so enthusiastic about anything besides beating people up or pulling pranks.

"Over here, Ace!" Sabo exclaimed gleefully. "This'll be our rudder!"

Ace turned to see what Sabo had grabbed and shrugged. It was a warped piece of wood that likely fell off of some other boat, but it was approximately the right shape and size and he was doubtful that they'd find another one.

He threw the rough cloth he'd found over his shoulder, sure that if Makino was willing to help him with the sewing, they could make it part of a patchwork sail, and then began hunting down rope. Not for the last time, he found himself humming under his breath as he worked, feeling somewhat satisfied at the prospect of getting back at the old man by learning all this ship stuff and then laughing at him when he tried to teach them things they already knew. Many of the subjects necessary for sailing still sounded pretty boring, but Sabo had assured him last night that it was all necessary, laser-focused on some navigation book with little "hmmm"s and "oooooooh"s punctuating the otherwise still silence of their treehouse.

Ace couldn't help but grin. Sabo had been getting more and more excited at the prospect of going out to sea. He'd made the suggestion on a whim, but now that they had a goal, he hadn't felt this energized in forever. They'd both agreed that this boat would just be for practice; they wouldn't leave the area around Dawn Island, but they did want to go far enough out to really learn the ropes and hone their skills before they made an even nicer boat and set out in seven years when they turned 17. Besides, it had been forever since Ace had eaten fish, and he was really looking forward to eating a new type of meat.

A call from Sabo jerked him from his thoughts. "ACE! I found something else!"

"Coming!"

* * *

"For the last time, Ace, we're naming it _Lufia!_"

"Screw you! We're calling it _Fyre_ and that's that!"

"Fire isn't even spelled with a 'y'!"

"Shut up! It looks cooler that way!"

The boys growled at each other, locked in their stalemate as the object of their intentions sat quietly on the shore of the sandy beach, away from prying eyes. A month had passed since they had scavenged Grey Terminal, and they had finally completed their craft project just before noon, after which they broke for lunch. They were about to call their craft project done when this unfortunate little fight broke out, since neither of them had realized that they'd actually forgotten to agree on a name for the boat.

It was a simple sailboat with only a single mast and sail, and with a little luck and a lot of effort, the two boys had scrapped and scavenged for all of the necessary parts and planks. Makino had given them a suspicious look when Ace presented her with the sailcloth, but she merely hummed and helped him make it, so he was pretty sure she hadn't caught on—his "best blanket ever!" excuse was definitely a keeper. The boat itself wasn't much to look at, but for their first time building anything seaworthy, it was pretty impressive, and if nothing else, it was theirs, built as a labor of love. Therefore, it needed a fitting name—if only they could agree on one.

"Whatever! I'm the captain, so what I say goes!" Ace broke the standoff, grabbing a chisel he had stolen from a local store. He marched over to the hull of the ship, and began carving _Fyre_ into the planks.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! And we're co-captains, remember?" Sabo squealed, picking up a second chisel and shoving Ace bodily to the ground, carefully etching the beginnings of _Lufia_ into the ship's side in front of where Ace had started carving. Ace spat out a mouthful of sand and glared at Sabo, ire evident on his freckled face.

"You're gonna regret that!"

They wrestled each other on the dunes, each trying to complete their chosen names and shake the other off at the same time, and by the time they were too exhausted to fight anymore, the sun had begun to set, lending the entire beach a beautiful orange glow and casting long shadows on the stone-faced cliffs behind them.

The two lay on their backs, panting, covered in scrapes and small bruises. A few moments of silence passed before they both broke into laughter.

"Well that was dumb," Ace snickered.

"Yeah," Sabo chuckled. "But I guess we still need to decide on what the name is…" He turned to look at the ship and began laughing harder. "Hey Ace."

"What?"

"I think we already named it."

Ace's laughter died off as he sat up, confused. "Whatddya mean?"

Sabo just pointed, and Ace read the word carved on the side of the boat before a loud groan escaped him.

"…_Luffy_? _That's_ what we're going with?"

"Why not?" Sabo snickered. "Just means we both named it."

Ace sighed. "I guess," he muttered, not entirely pleased with the outcome. As names went, it wasn't what he'd had in mind, but he supposed it wasn't terrible. Besides, it wasn't like this was going to be their forever boat; they'd just have to make do, and a surprisingly large part of him was still proud at what he'd helped make.

"Hey Ace."

Sabo's voice broke through the quiet, causing Ace to glance over at his best friend.

"I read that if you become a crew member on a boat, it's good luck to make a wish on it. That way, the boat knows the hearts of the people it's protecting."

Ace snorted. "That's stupid. Besides, this is our practice boat. Can we even call ourselves a crew?"

Sabo scowled. "It's not stupid! I don't wanna jinx us, Ace. And besides, whenever you man a boat, you're part of that boat's crew. It's the law."

Tuning the other out before he began complaining about laws attached to lawless pirates, Sabo faced toward the boat, clasping his hands together and closing his eyes. In his mind, he saw flashes of pictures, people and places blending together as he thought about what he wanted most.

He thought of his birth family, and the bluebloods of High Town.

_I want to leave this island._

He thought of the people of Grey Terminal and Foosha Village.

_I don't want others to suffer because of the nobles' greed._

He thought of Dadan and the bandits, and of Garp the Fist.

_I want to make my own choices._

But most of all, he thought of Ace.

_I want to stay with Ace. I want a real family. I want him to be happy._

His chaotic thoughts coalesced into a single wish, a desire so raw that it danced through him, filling him with energy from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.

_I want to be free. And I want to free others._

When he opened his eyes again, Ace was just staring at him, an unreadable expression on his face. Sabo stared back, slightly unnerved, blinking rapidly as he came back to his senses.  
Finally, Ace turned to the ship and clasped his hands together as well, mimicking Sabo. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, in and out.

He thought of his mother.

_Even though I shouldn't have been born… even though I'm a monster… I want to make her proud._

He thought of his father.

_I want to be out of his shadow. I want to be remembered for me, not for being _his_ son._

He thought of all of the people who laughed and jeered when he asked what would happen if Gol D. Roger had a child.

_I don't want to listen to them ever again. Even if they're right, I don't want to hear it anymore._

But most of all, he thought of Sabo.

_I want to sail the world with him. I want to be his friend, even if I don't deserve it. I want him to fulfill his dream._

He had a moment of profound clarity, a fire in his heart and soul that seemed to burn away the shadows of his past.

_I want to be free. And even if it's impossible, I want to find where I belong._

He blinked, coming back to himself as Sabo eyed him with concern. "You ok, Ace?"

"…Yeah. Let's go back."

"Ok."

They hid their boat in the mouth of a nearby cave, tying it to a rock and checking to make sure it was out of sight of the beach. Without hesitation, they grabbed their pipes and packs, slinging them on their backs as they began the trek back home. Neither could repress the smiles on their faces or the excited chatter flowing from their mouths; the joy bubbling up from their souls was infectious. They couldn't put their fingers on what they were feeling, but they both got the sense that something monumental had occurred, and the foreign feeling put a spring in their steps as they bolted away from the sands, back toward their treehouse—and dinner.


	2. Let the Game Begin

The next morning was another beautiful day, but the boys hardly noticed it as they rushed down to the ship. No, make that _their_ ship! The one they'd finished yesterday! They'd eaten a quick breakfast and run off, dashing past Dadan and the other bandits who were too busy being clueless to notice them, before their feet led them to the secluded beach where they'd built and stowed the ship.

"Hurry, Sabo! Hurry!" Ace shouted, excitement evident in his voice. "I wanna go out to sea TODAY!"

Sabo laughed in return, gripping his blue top hat securely in one hand as he kept pace with Ace. "Ok, ok! Just remember, going out to sea means being prepared-"

Ace groaned, cutting him off. "I know! I read _a book_ about it! An entire book, Sabo! I get it!"

Sabo just gave him an unimpressed look. "And by 'read,' I know you actually mean 'looked at the pictures.'"

Ace looked at him with slight embarrassment, a bit of heat in his eyes. "It still counts!"

Sabo just sighed in response.

After a few minutes, they reached the cave where they'd hidden the boat. "Come on, come on!" Ace cheered. "Untie it, Sabo!"

Sabo knelt down by the lip of the cave entrance and took off his shoes and socks, momentarily wincing as his bare feet touched the hot sand. He walked carefully into the water, the waves reaching up to his thighs, and stepped into the mouth of the cave. Letting his eyes adjust, he anchored one hand on the wall for balance as he searched around for the rope securing their ship. Once he found it, he pulled it gently toward him, the helm of the boat following. "Ok, got it," he yelled back to Ace. "Now, let me just get it free…" His questing hands ghosted over the rock they'd tied the ship to, and swiftly undid the knot. "There!" Now free, the boat bobbed over, gently knocking against Sabo's shoulder. With a firm hold on the rope, Sabo dragged _Luffy_ out of the cave and onto the shoreline.

"Ok, it's free," Sabo grinned, and Ace smiled back, eyes sweeping over the boat. The patchwork sail that was ready to fly, the hand-carved letters in the hull, the kid sleeping on the deck-wait, what? His eyes locked onto the intruder and his expression instantly morphed from quiet pride to fierce anger.

Sabo furrowed his brow. "What's the matter-"

"OI! YOU! In our boat! Wake up!" Ace yelled, reaching for his lead pipe, and Sabo scrambled out of the water, still gripping the rope, to see for himself what Ace was going on about.

Laying on the deck near the back of the boat was a boy slightly younger than them, dressed in a long red raincoat with sandals on his feet. He had a mop of black hair on his head and seemed to be sleeping, or at least he had been until Ace started screaming at him.

Slowly sitting up, the kid blinked at them once, then twice, rubbing his eyes with a hand. Yawning, he seemed to wake up a little more, regarding them with wide, dark eyes, the scar under his left eye fairly noticeable in the eleven-o'-clock sun. From the new position, Sabo could see that the kid held a wooden mallet in his hand. Ace snarled, advancing a step closer. "Who're you?! And why are you on our ship?!" His hand curled around the pipe, picking it up and spinning it around over his head before plonking one end in the sand. Sabo reached for his own pipe, leveling his own glare at the strange kid. If this brat thought he could destroy their ship with that mallet, he had another thing coming.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, finally aware of his surroundings. He looked around at the two of them, clearly sizing up the situation, and Sabo put a hand on Ace's arm, restraining the other to see what the intruder did. Ace shot him a quick glare, but stepped back a bit as the kid's attention locked onto the two of them. Instead of looking scared, though, he just grinned. "Hi! I'm Luffy!"

Now Sabo was just confused. What did he mean by that? The only Luffy on this entire island, as far as he knew of anyway, was their boat, and that had been an accident. He gave a subtle glance toward Ace, who looked equally lost. However, confusion quickly gave way to anger as Ace brought his pipe to bear once again.

"I dunno why you say your name's the same as our ship, and I don't care! Get off, right now!"

"Luffy" laughed, and Sabo was struck by just how blindingly _bright_ that grin was. It wasn't the look of a scared little kid, that's for sure. "Sorry, but I can't!" he replied, still acting way happier than the situation really called for. "I can't get off this ship without help."

Ace snorted, clearly taking the statement as a flimsy excuse. "Right. Well, if you won't leave, I'll just make you talk!" With calm and collected movements, Ace vaulted onto the deck of the ship, searching for some rope as he did so.

"Oooooh, is this a game?" "Luffy" cheered. Sabo shook his head and boarded as well, relinquishing the lead rope after being certain the boat wouldn't suddenly slip away in the surf.

"Sure kid. It's called 'Interrogation.' We're gonna ask you some questions, and if you tell the truth, we won't beat you up."

"That's right!" Ace seconded. "Now where did we put the rope, Sabo?"

"Oh, then I have a question too! And there's rope in the box by the sail!" their captive supplied.

Ace looked at him suspiciously before examining the box, slowly pulling out the elusive rope. He turned back toward the boy, eyes blazing. "How did you know that?! Did you search our ship?!"

The kid just laughed again, and Sabo genuinely couldn't tell if he was fearless or stupid. Maybe both.

"I know where everything is on this ship!"

Ace growled at the kid and pointed. "Stand in front of the mast!" "Luffy" shrugged his shoulders, but did as he commanded.

Ace jerked his head toward their captive, and Sabo grabbed the other end of the rope to help out. The kid just laughed as he watched them, seemingly unfazed by the proceedings.

"Ooooooh, are you going to tie up the mast? Why?"

Ace and Sabo shared a look of disbelief. Did this kid really not get it? At all? "N...no, kid," Sabo explained hesitantly. "We're tying you to the mast."

The kid's smile fell away as he cocked his head to the side, looking confused, eyebrows furrowing. "Why would ya wanna do that?"

Now it was Ace's turn to look unsure. "W...we just want answers. That's all."

Sabo's eyes flicked between the two trying to make sense of the exchange. "Hey, Luffy, was it? Mind if we ask you our questions? We were gonna play that game, right?"

The boy's face suddenly brightened. "Oh, yeah! Ok. What d'ya wanna know?"

Sabo glanced at Ace hesitantly. "Why can't you leave the ship by yourself?"

The kid laughed. "I'm bound to it! Unless my crew takes my heartwood with them, I can't leave the ship!"

Ace and Sabo exchanged a confused look. "Heartwood?"

"Luffy" nodded. "Yeah! I'm tethered to it. Where it goes, I go. Without that, I'd be a goner!" He gave a loud giggle, as if he hadn't just revealed some incredibly important, maybe-life threatening information. "Oh! Is it my turn now? Can I ask you my question, Ace?"

Ace rolled his eyes, about to loudly announce where exactly the name-thief could put his question, when Sabo put a hand out, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Wait. How did you know his name?"

The kid just kept smiling, wide and easy-going. "That's easy! You're Ace and Sabo; you two built me!"

The anger and anxiousness melted off of the two boys at this proclamation, replaced by shock and confusion. Sabo paled, white as a laundered sail. "No way. You can't be…"

Ace spoke up at the same time. "Kid… what are you?"

The kid giggled. "I'm a kla… a klab… a klabter…" He narrowed his eyes in concentration, stumbling over the syllables.

"Klabautermann," Sabo whispered, gripping Ace's arm.

"Yeah, that's it!" Luffy exclaimed happily, waving his hands in the air.

"A what?" Ace growled, frustration and confusion clouding his voice.

Sabo swallowed, eyes never leaving the figure before them, fingers digging into Ace's forearm. "I read about them. They're boat spirits. They only appear on boats that are loved by their crew members. Supposedly, they carry wooden mallets and wear raincoats"-both boys' eyes were drawn to the mallet, still clenched in the kid's fist, and the dapper red raincoat he wore despite the sunny weather-"and they're supposedly the very incarnations, or souls, of the beloved ships they live on."

Ace stared at Sabo, then stared back at Luffy. "A...are you serious?" he hissed, gently prying Sabo off of him. "We…why is here, then?!"

"Because," Luffy said, suddenly appearing right in front of them-and now there really could be no doubt that he was the spirit of their boat because at this distance, under his left eye, what they thought was a scar was actually a line of jagged scratches that spelled his name, their frenzied handwriting incarnate on that tiny canvas-"you guys built me with love. Even if it wasn't your intent to keep me forever, you still loved making me, and you're still proud of what you built. That, and…"

Luffy then turned away from them, staring out to sea. His smile disappeared, replaced by an oddly thoughtful and serious expression. "You both wished with all your hearts to be free. So I was born to carry that wish."

Suddenly, the klabautermann turned back to them and grinned, and the smile seemed to stretch across his face like a horizon, bright as the sun and lasting forever. "You're my crew, and I'm your ship, and I'm gonna carry and protect both you and your dreams, ok?"

Ace and Sabo turned to each other, and back to Luffy. Tentatively, Sabo stretched his hand out, aiming for Luffy's shoulder, and his fingertips merely passed through the specter of the black-haired boy, as if gliding through empty air. Ace tried the same, to the same effect. It was impossible. It couldn't be real. And yet, here he was, black eyes the color of cannonballs boring into them, a hopeful smile on his face. Finally, Luffy himself broke the silence.

"So, can I ask my question now?"

Sabo jolted, having completely forgotten about Luffy's question. "Oh, right! You had something you really wanted to ask earlier. What is it?" Ace also regarded the spirit curiously, still trying to wrap his mind around everything that had happened in the last hour but came to the conclusion that if nothing else, Luffy wasn't a threat.

Luffy graced them with that blinding grin again. "You're humans, right?" Both Ace and Sabo nodded, and sensing that he had more to say, unconsciously leaned in, hanging on to his every word. Luffy took a deep breath.

"Do you poop?"


	3. The Heart of a Sailor

"Wheeeeeeee!" Luffy shouted, twirling and dancing around the deck in excitement as Ace and Sabo scrambled to keep the sails under control. The boat rocked beneath their feet, and the two boys struggled to stay upright as their first-ever sailing attempt seemed to be off to a not-so-smooth start. After what had felt like an eternity (although it had only been two weeks since meeting Luffy), they had finally been gifted a day of fair winds and full sails to try their hands at sailing the beautiful blue. However, neither boy had counted on sailing a ship to be quite so… difficult.

"Luffy! A little help here!" Ace yelled, calloused hands clutching the boat's rudder. "What do we do?!"

"Oh! Uhhhhh…" The klabautermann thought for a moment before pointing at various ropes and making gestures with his hands. "Okay! Pull that one alllllll the way to the left! And move that one just a little! And push that big wood pole a bunch! That's all there is to it! Shishishi!"

Ace and Sabo stared at the boat fairy, dumbstruck. After a good moment of trying to decipher Luffy's "instructions," Sabo's face lit up in understanding. "Oh! I get it! Ace, follow my lead!" The two boys quickly worked in unison to bring the boat under control, the heaving finally ceasing as the boat was calm again. "There we go!" Sabo laughed, as Ace gave a huge sigh of relief. "Easy does it!"

"Yay! You did it!" Luffy cheered, clapping his hands enthusiastically.

"No thanks to you," Ace growled, glaring at the klabautermann. "You're an actual boat, for cryin' out loud! Shouldn't you know how to, I dunno, _sail?_"

Luffy pouted, lower lip jutting out almost comically from his baby-like face, and both Ace and Sabo were momentarily taken aback at just how _human_ the gesture was. "Ace is mean! 'Course I know how to sail! I told you what to do, didn't I?"

Sabo sighed. "Yes, Luffy, but what Ace meant was that you didn't give very clear instructions. For example, you could have said 'mainsail' or 'rigging' instead of just pointing."

Luffy's pout wavered ever so slightly before being replaced with an unabashed smile. "Oh, you know all those ship words? That's so cool! I'm no good at remembering stuff like that; I just know what you're supposed to do to keep the boat going. It's like… uhhh… in-sting."

"Instinct?" Sabo corrected. Luffy brightened in response.

"Yeah, that! I just know what feels right and what doesn't, and I know what things to pull and move. Dunno the real names, though."

Ace and Sabo shared a glance. "Right...well, I'll just have to memorize the terms for all of us then," Sabo grinned.

"Hey!" Ace interjected. "I can remember this stuff too!"

Sabo gave him a disparaging look. "Uh-huh. Just like you can remember the constellations. Or the nearby islands. Or anything else I've tried to get you to remember regarding sailing and navigating."

Ace geared up to give a witty retort, but had to admit that his best friend had a point. He begrudgingly closed his mouth as Sabo smirked in victory.

"That's what I thought." The top-hatted boy turned back to the giggling boat spirit. "Ok, let's sail a little farther. I heard rumors that there's a Sea King around here, so we want to stick close to shore, but we also want to go just far enough away that we're on the open water. Ready?"

Ace nodded. "Yep! Let's do it!"

The two sailed the boat slightly further out, the safety of the shore still close but no longer so stifling. The wind combed through their unruly hair and kissed at their skin, as if welcoming them to the seafaring life, and Ace and Sabo gaped at how even out here, the ocean seemed to go on forever; the bright blue horizon was dotted with tiny black blobs that must have been other islands, and the waves were calm and gentle, singing in the breeze.

It was breathtaking.

Ace and Sabo continued to stare, entranced, as Luffy started singing some nonsensical song about islands, flopping his arms over the railing. Suddenly, he perked up. "Oi, Ace! Sabo! It's another ship!"

The two boys tore their eyes away from the open sea and looked toward Foosha Village. Sure enough, a single ship was pulling up to dock. It was larger than their own boat, and certainly seemed to have seen its fair share of battles, but the most eye-catching feature was the onyx-black sails that adorned the ship, a Jolly Roger proudly painted on the front. Ace gritted his teeth. "Pirates."

He reached for his pipe, gripping it. "C'mon, Sabo. We gotta make sure they don't hurt Makino and the rest."

Sabo nodded, doing the same. "Let's pull up closer."

The two quickly steered their boat toward the dock, beaching it several feet away from the pirate ship and securing it to a large rock jutting out of the sand.

"Ok, let's go!"

"Wait!" Luffy whined. Ace and Sabo turned to him in annoyance.

"What?!" Ace hissed.

"Take me with you," Luffy replied. "I wanna go too!"

Sabo shook his head. "It's gonna be dangerous, Luffy. We don't know what these pirates will be like. I know you've been wanting to see more than the shore and the cave for a while now, but…"

"PLEASE?" Luffy interrupted, eyes shining and tone whining. "It's easy to take me along! I don't weigh much, and… I just don't wanna be alone…" He looked down at the deck, a somber expression on his face.

Ace and Sabo shared a look, and the black-haired boy sighed. "Fine. If you wanna come along, we'll take you. Just don't get in the way!"

Luffy looked up at them and beamed, and the warmth of his smile was almost tangible. "Yay! Thank you Ace!" The two friends could practically feel their faces mirroring Luffy's, grins stretching widely.

"Alright, what do we need to do?"

* * *

"Are you sure this is going to work, Luffy?" Sabo asked, nervously regarding the mast of the ship. "I've never done anything like this before."

Ace gave his best friend a look that screamed "obviously" but didn't say anything, carefully keeping an eye on the town to ensure that there were no fires or other obvious signs of trouble.

"It'll be fine," the spirit giggled, picking his ear with his pinky finger. The spritely klabautermann was leaning precariously off the edge of the railing of the ship, looking for all the world like he was about to take a tumble into the tides below, and Ace and Sabo sighed at his complete lack of worry.

"Ok, here goes then," Sabo mumbled, reaching for the hidden compartment in the mast that Luffy had pointed out to him. He hadn't even realized it was there, much less remembered adding it when he and Ace were building the ship, yet somehow, there it was. He slid back the panel and slipped his hand into the cubbyhole, fingers searching for the heart-shaped piece of wood that was basically Luffy's connection to the physical world. After a moment, his questing digits found a hard knob of wood, warm to the touch, and carefully brought it out into the sunlight. It was actually shaped like a heart, and it fit comfortably in the palm of Sabo's hand although it was a little more dense than its size and shape would suggest. It seemed to be made of the same material as that of the ship, and was etched with a single symbol in a language that Sabo didn't understand.

"That's it! That's it!" Luffy shouted, breaking Sabo out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I figured," Sabo mumbled. Pulling out a satchel, he put the heartwood into it and secured it safely in his pocket. "Are you gonna be ok being away from the ship?"

"Shishishi, I'll be fine!" Luffy laughed. "I can be away from my body for about 2 hours and then I start having problems, so as long as I'm back by then, I'll be ok."

Ace and Sabo nodded. "This shouldn't take long anyway," Ace growled. "There's no way some stupid pirates are gonna get the best of us."

Sabo laughed in agreement, his mirth tinged with his itch to fight. He beat his pipe against his palm, a grin evident on his face. "We'll teach those guys not to mess with our town!"


	4. Red-Hair and the Bear

**A/N: Hey guys! Thank you all so much for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! It means the world to me that you like my story, and I can't tell you all how much I appreciate the support. This was my creative process this time:**

**Me: Ok, let's write!**

**My brain: Ok! :D**

***~Time Passes~***

**Me: Ok, what have we got?**

**My brain: Chapter 6! :D**

**Me: But where's Chapter 4? That comes next!**

**My brain: Oh. I dunno. I was working on Chapter 6.**

Ace and Sabo concealed themselves as completely as they could in the bushes near the village entrance, eying the pirates carefully. From here, they scoped out several men offloading a number of crates, working with an efficiency that suggested several hard years of experience and teamwork. A tall man with black hair tied back in a ponytail stood over to the side, supervising with a stoic expression and a cigarette poking out of the corner of his mouth. A rifle was slung casually over his back, the polished surface practically gleaming in the sunlight. Beside him, a larger man with goggles was chowing down on a piece of meat, devouring it like it was the center of his universe. They seemed to be talking about something (or at least one of them was-the other was far too focused on his meal), but the boys were too far away to make out the words.

"Ne, Ace! Over there! Who's that?"

Both boys flinched at Luffy's volume and Sabo instinctively went to clap a hand over the boy's mouth to quiet him. This was futile, however, as his palm passed right through Luffy's head and smacked loudly against a nearby tree. He drew his hand back quickly, looking more than a little disturbed, as Ace just grimaced and quickly scanned the assembled pirates, checking to make sure that the noise wasn't noticed. Fortunately, the pirates seemed to be too far away to hear.

"How should I know, idiot!?" Ace hissed, as Sabo shook his smarting hand. "I've never seen these guys before!"

Luffy pouted in response. "Hm… I'd ask their ship, but she's too far. The sail picture's cool, though."

Ace and Sabo blinked at the news that Luffy could apparently talk to other ships, but he was intently staring at the Jolly Roger painted proudly on the sails. From their current vantage point, they could make out an open-mouthed skull with three lines over one eye and two swords in the background. Huh.

A loud commotion drew the boys' attention, and they quickly spotted several pirates, including most of the men at the docks and the supervisor, entering Party's Bar, the only tavern in town. Ace drew in a quick breath, knowing that Makino was probably in there by herself as their bandit "caretakers" were drinking at home and the mayor was probably busy making sure the pirates didn't invite trouble. He shared a glance with Sabo, satisfied to see his other half gripping his pipe tightly, and was about to propose that they go beat the shit out of some pirates when a thought occurred to him. He quickly turned to Luffy. "Can anybody other than us see you, Luffy?"

Luffy shrugged. "Only if I want 'em to." The two boys nodded, glad that Luffy would be hidden; they didn't need people asking questions about the newest arrival to their town, and they feared that letting Luffy meet the villagers would just raise far too many questions. "Let's go then, and keep yourself hidden until it's safe," Sabo whispered, and Ace merely grinned in response, the two hustling out of the brush toward the bar as their blood began to boil, eager to protect Makino.

"Ah!" Luffy exclaimed as the two made a beeline for Party's. "Wait for me!"

"OI!" Ace yelled as he slammed open the door to the tavern, pipe clenched tightly in his fist as he scowled at the various "guests". Sabo slinked in right after him, an equally intimidating scowl on his face as he swung his own pipe in a tight circle around his head before plonking one end down on the worn floorboards. At the sudden disturbance that had interrupted a particularly off-key rendition of _Binks' Sake_, several pirates looked up at the two boys, but after a moment, they just chuckled and went back to drinking ale and conversing with their tablemates. Ace snarled at how blatantly they were ignoring him, and was about to walk up to the closest one to give him a taste of his iron when Makino's voice rang out over the din.

"Oh, Ace! And Sabo too!" she called, ensconced behind the bar as two men, one of them the dark-haired dock supervisor, perched on the stools, languidly downing their tankards. "Come over here, ok?" The two boys froze, but as they met her eyes and saw no fear in her face, they slowly walked over to where she stood. She gestured to them to sit, but they shook their heads tersely, not willing to let their guards down just yet.

A loud laugh rang out from the guy next to them, and their heads snapped over to him, sizing him up. He had red hair and three long slashes over one eye, with well-trimmed facial hair and a surprisingly kind face. He dressed simply, in a black coat and plain shirt and pants, and a worn straw hat rested easily on his head. He certainly didn't fit their mental image of a notorious, law-breaking pirate, that much was for sure.

"Oi, Miss Makino! Are these boys regulars around here?" He laughed as he asked the question, and as he slammed his tankard back down on the countertop, the hollow sound prompted Makino to pour in some more sake. She smiled at them as she did so, and it was one of her warm, easy smiles that made Ace's cheeks heat up a little and Sabo get all shy and flustered.

"You could say that. I help take care of them whenever they come by." She finished pouring his drink and gestured to them. "Shanks, this is Ace and Sabo. Boys, this is Shanks, captain of the Red Hair Pirates."

The two boys gulped and nodded in greeting, hands still on their weapons but more relaxed now that Makino was clearly in no danger. Unsurprisingly, it was Ace who broke the silence first. "So… if you're not here to burn down our town, why _are_ you here?" he asked bluntly, and Sabo could have smacked himself in embarrassment. From Makino's stormy expression, he knew Ace could look forward to a strong "talking-to" as soon as she came up the mountain again.

Shanks, however, seemed to merrily ignore the suspicion in the young boy's voice and laughed aloud. "Well, I'm actually looking for someone, but my crew and I are tired and we wanted to take a break from sailing! So here we are!"

Ace looked confused. "You're lookin' for someone? All the way out here in East Blue?"

Shanks nodded. "Mmhmm. I heard rumors about them, and I wanted to confirm if the stories were true. So I've been looking for them ever since."

Ace shrugged and seemed to accept the answer, and Sabo saw that it was his turn for questions. He had just opened his mouth to ask if the positions of the stars were of any actual use for navigation on the Grand Line when a new voice cut into the conversation.

"Woooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww! So cool! So you guys are pirates?"

The tavern immediately fell silent, and Ace and Sabo froze, turning their heads to the barstool next to them, hoping and praying that their eyes were playing tricks on them and their oblivious, empty-headed, already beloved klabautermann was _not_ sitting on the stool, kicking his feet up and smiling like the sun.

Unfortunately, like so many things in their lives, it was not to be as they'd hoped.

Luffy just sat happily on the stool, locking eyes with Shanks who continued to stare dumbfounded at the little boy in a raincoat and sandals who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The older pirate blinked several times, as if processing this, and then stared down at the bottom of his tankard as if it would give him all the answers. After a moment of silence, however, he burst out laughing, startling Ace and Sabo from their shock. "Hoowhee! I must have drank a WHOLE lot more than I thought if a kid just came outta nowhere! Looks like that's all for me!" he shouted, and the other men in the bar laughed uproariously, jeering at their captain for not noticing the newcomer (not that any of them could have claimed to have seen him either) before going back to gambling and guzzling ale. Ace and Sabo laughed weakly, panic threatening to overtake them as Makino stared puzzledly at the child, trying to figure out if she had ever seen him before. Newcomers to Foosha Village were a rarity, and a child seemingly unaccompanied by parents would certainly have gotten some attention.

Sabo coughed into his hand, drawing her attention. "Uh, Makino, this is Luffy. He's… a friend. From Grey Terminal."

Makino's bewildered expression quickly morphed into a familiar face of motherly concern that never failed to warm Sabo's heart just a little bit, mixed with pride and… was that joy? She quickly put a glass down on the counter before their new friend and poured him some juice. "I see… well, it's so nice to meet you, Luffy! I'm Makino, and I run this bar. Here, why don't you have some juice? It's made from oranges grown just a few islands over."

"Oh! I can't have any." At Luffy's response, Makino gave him a questioning look.

"Don't worry about payment; it's on the house. A friend of Ace and Sabo's is always welcome here." Ace and Sabo glanced at each other, and as the silence began to stretch for a little too long, Ace quickly grabbed the glass and downed it, causing Makino to stare at him in shock. "Ace!" she admonished, hands going to her hips in another familiar pose.

Ace grinned sheepishly and put the glass back on the counter. "Uh, he doesn't like juice," the boy said, trying not to seem too suspicious. "It's too… uh… sweet for him. Yeah."

Makino raised an eyebrow, but seeing that Luffy didn't look too upset over losing his drink, she just sighed and went to clean the glass. "Fine, fine. Just tell me if you want anything, ok, Luffy?"

The spirit just nodded eagerly, glad the kind bartender hadn't pushed the issue. "I will, Makino!" He quickly turned back to Shanks, who didn't quite seem to know what to make of the interaction. "So? Tell me! Tell me! You're a real pirate, right? Oh, and uh… what's a pirate?"

The entire tavern closed its collective yap and turned to give Luffy an incredulous stare, and Ace and Sabo's jaws dropped as they mentally kicked themselves for not realizing their lovable idiot of a boat spirit had no idea what a pirate was. Did his ignorance extend to _everything_ outside of boats?

Shanks, for his part, looked just as shocked, his eyes wide and a gobsmacked expression on his face. However, after a moment, he seemed to recover. "W...well! I didn't think anyone _hadn't _heard about pirates in this day and age, but hey! That's fine!"

He lifted his mug, and gestured out to the sea, clearly visible through a nearby window. "See, there's the Marines, the pirates, and everyone else. The Marines are…" he glanced down at the three boys, mentally calculating how much to tell them given that he was on a Marine-protected island. "Well. The Marines sail around and take orders from the government. That's their job. It's REALLY boring and they're all _so_ serious," he winked conspiratorially. Sabo cracked a smile as Luffy let loose a giggle, and even Ace seemed to relax just a touch. "Pirates, though… We can do whatever we want, when we want! We sail the seas, and do our thing, and have a good old time!"

"YEAH!" came the collective shout from the assembled pirates.

"Whoa! That's so cool!" If they didn't know better, everyone watching could have sworn that the raincoat-clad boy had actual stars in his eyes. "We should be pirates! 'Cause they're free and do what they want 'n go all sorts of places and I wanna take Ace 'n Sabo to where they gotta go."

Shanks smiled, not as widely as Luffy (the boys were beginning to think that nobody could smile like Luffy) but genuine all the same. "Oh? Is that your dream, then?"

Luffy nodded. "Yep! I wanna be the freest on the seas! An' I wanna help Ace 'n Sabo with their dreams too!"

Shanks chuckled, the sound light and heartwarming and just a bit...approving? "That's a good dream, Luffy. You know, you remind me of someone I used to know…"

But Shanks was cut off as Luffy launched into his next thought, hardly giving the veteran pirate a moment to breathe. "So I gotta know! What's your ship like? What's her name? She's really cool!"

Shanks looked at the boy appraisingly, and Ace and Sabo tensed slightly, ready to make some excuse and bust out of there at a moment's notice should Luffy give away what he was. However, the pirate captain seemed satisfied by whatever he saw and laughed, a low, deep sound that seemed to rumble up from his very soul. "You're interested in my boat, huh? Well, you're right about her being cool; her name's _Red Force_."

Luffy laughed, the joyful sound echoing throughout the bar and causing some of the pirates to smile in return. "She sounds strong!" he exclaimed, drawing grimaces from the two ten-year olds warily eying Shanks as the man himself gave an odd little chuckle, as if trying to decipher some hidden meaning in Luffy's words. "Yeah, you could say that. She's-"

Suddenly, the door to the bar burst open, and rope-tied sandals that seemed to carry all the dirt on the mountain on them strode across Party's Bar, followed by the thunking of several pairs of well-worn boots. "Well, well," smirked their leader, eying the now silent bar. "Looks like you have a full house here, Makino." The way he emphasized her name gave Sabo the creeps, and one look at Ace told him that his best friend was feeling the same way.

"Higuma," Makino replied, her earlier cheer now concealed by caution. "What can I do for you today?"

At Shanks' questioning glance and Ace's growl, Sabo turned to the pirate, whispering. "Higuma's the leader of one of the bandit groups up on Mt. Corvo. Word is he was kicked out of Dadan's group for being a little-"

"That's enough outta you, brat," the bandit hissed, a hand gravitating toward a sword on his hip, and Sabo narrowed his eyes, hand gripping his pipe. He tensed to change stances, but the knot of heartwood in his pocket bumped into his hip, and his eyes widened before he forcibly relaxed himself and said nothing more. He tried to ignore the weight of Shanks' gaze.

Ace moved to stand in front of where Makino was tending the bar, interposing himself between the green-haired girl and the intruder. Higuma eyed him curiously for a moment, but quickly turned his focus to the young bartender. "Oi, get me some sake, woman!" He took out a yellowed piece of paper, brandishing it for the bar to see. It was his bounty poster, the 8 million Beri reward written in large lettering. "Don't you know who I am?! I'm Higuma the Bear! Don't you see this bounty?! You don't wanna mess with me!"

Makino met his gaze, eyes guarded. "I'm sorry, but we're all out of sake."

The bandit boss cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Then what are they drinking?" he asked casually, gesturing to the assembled pirates.

"The last of my stock," she replied. "Now, can I-"

"Ah, not to worry, Miss Makino," Shanks interrupted smoothly, holding out the last unopened bottle of sake toward the bandit, who took it warily. "Here, you can have mine. Sorry for the-"

He couldn't even finish his sentence before the bandit slammed the bottle down on his head, shattering it and soaking the pirate in sake. Ace and Sabo gripped their pipes tighter and scrambled out of the way to a more defensible location, sure that a brawl was about to break out, and Luffy thankfully followed, an oddly analytical look overtaking his features. However, what instead happened was something none of the locals could have predicted.

Instead of getting angry, the pirate crew laughed uproariously, Shanks looking somewhat sheepish. Mirthful echoes rang out through the bar, and the boys' and bandits' jaws dropped to the floor. "Ah, he got you good, cap!"

"Yeah, looks like you're gonna be taking that drink with ya!"

"MMMmhmhmmmmmmhmhm-_pwah_ hahaha, that was the best thing I've seen in a week!"

Ace and Sabo just looked around, shellshocked, as Higuma and the bandits seemed to recover and sneered at the assembled pirates, grumbling as they made their way out of the bar. After a moment, the two boys locked eyes with Shanks again, with Ace regarding him angrily. "What was that about?!" he yelled, stomping over to the captain. "Those guys just embarrassed you in front of everybody, and you're gonna let them get away with it?! What kind of self-respecting pirate are you?"

Shanks blinked, and gave the two boys and their spirit a little, knowing smile, reaching down to pat Ace's shoulder. "It's fine. Sometimes, it's better-"

Ace batted the hand away, disappointment and upset clouding his stormy grey eyes. "Shut up. Let's get out of here; I don't wanna talk to this fake bastard anymore."

Without another word, the three made their way out of the bar, Sabo trying to pull Luffy along as best he could while the spirit kept looking back over his shoulder, gaze set into a serious yet unreadable expression as he regarded the red-haired captain. The captain stared back, that analyzing expression boring into the spirit, and the two shared a _look _before the doors closed behind the angry boys.

Benn Beckman turned to his captain. "What's with the kid?"

"I dunno," Shanks responded, his gaze not leaving the boys' path out of the bar. "But he's no normal kid. I can feel it, and if even my _haki _couldn't sense him come in… well. That changes things."

He took a sip of his remaining drink, nodding gratefully to Makino as she began to clean up the mess.

"I think we oughta put our search for Captain's kid on hold, Benn. Something just as interesting has sailed into port."


	5. Words of Wisdom

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since the last update; unfortunately, having a real adult job does that to you :,) However, I am proud to present the next chapter, and over the next few weeks I may be working on some oneshots! Please look forward to it!**

"Who does that sake-loving bastard think he is?!" Ace fumed, his flop flops unsettling the dirt that coated most of the roads of Foosha Village. Sabo and Luffy followed behind, the latter ooh-ing and ahh-ing at every passing cow and chicken. Sabo was starting to go slightly hoarse with just how much he was explaining their daily world to the curious young klabautermann, and while he had always felt Dawn Island to be such a small, restrictive place, he was starting to appreciate it a little more for seeing it through Luffy's wonder-filled gaze. Fortunately, they managed to avoid any villagers on their way back to the docks; the townspeople were likely too busy complaining to the mayor to be outside while pirates were here. Overhead, the windmills that decorated the otherwise flat landscape of the town spun as lazily as they always did, utterly uncaring of the young D.'s current outrage.

Sabo cleared his throat to get Ace's attention. "Well, he was drinking a lot. Maybe he was too drunk to care."

"Haha, well, I wouldn't say that," a laughing voice echoed down from on high.

In a flash, the three boys turned to face the speaker, craning their heads back, and on the deck of the Red Force stood a slim woman with black hair and a rather protruding nose. She wore a short black raincoat that went down to her waist, and as she turned away from them to make her way down, they could see the Red Force's Jolly Roger on the back. Her wedge sandals _clop clop clopped _down the gangplank, as she stopped right at the edge and looked over the scruffy boys before her.

"Nice to meet you three. Normally, I wouldn't say anythin', but since you got a guardian spirit of yer own, I guess it can't hurt. I'm Banchina, resident klabautermann of the _Red Force_." Her smile lit up her eyes as she spoke, and the warmth in them was practically tangible, despite the fact that the boys knew that their hands would never be able to reach her.

"Hi!" Luffy exclaimed, the exuberance in his voice carrying through the air. "I'm Luffy, and I'm gonna be the freest ship on the seas!" Ace merely glared at the older spirit, not appreciating her interruption, while Sabo fixed her with a confused look. "Can a klabautermann have a name that's different from their ship's?"

The spirited woman laughed, the sound brewing in her gut and bursting out into the sky. "Sorta! When I was just a simple fishin' boat, I was known as the _Urban China_, but that was before my silly captain was sniped by Cap'n Shanks." She chuckled at that, a joke that was clearly dear to her heart flying over the heads of all three boys. "My boat may be the _Red Force_, but so long as my guy's around, I'm always gonna be his Banchina, and I'mma serve his Captain and crewmates as best I can."

"WOW!" Luffy exclaimed, clearly impressed by her dedication. "That's so cool! See, Ace? I told you she was cool!" At Luffy's declaration, Sabo's eyes widened and he suddenly dipped into a sharp bow.

"Ah! Sorry for not introducing ourselves. I'm Sabo, and that's my best friend Ace," he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at the still-smouldering 10 year old before pointing to their own little spirit. "And like he said, that's Luffy, the klabautermann of our boat."

"Yep! Nice to meet you!" Luffy cheered, eyes squinching shut as a blinding smile practically split his face. After a moment, his face relaxed, although his eyes seemed to widen a bit. "Oh! Banchi, maybe you can answer Ace's question!"

Ace whipped his head around at Luffy, redirecting his sharp glare to the young spirit, but in response, the klabautermann faced him and simply met his gaze, eyes wide and waiting for his answer. Seeing that Luffy wasn't about to change the subject, Ace sighed and turned back to Banchina.

"Since you didn't see it, I'll tell you what happened. This bandit came in and wanted some booze and was really gross to Makino and that red-haired bastard offered him his bottle, but that asshole bandit just smashed it on him and everybody laughed! What's that all about?! If he was a real pirate, he should'a just beat 'im up!"

Banchina's face took on a thoughtful expression as she considered the situation, Ace's sharp gaze never leaving her own. "Truth be told, lotsa pirates would agree with you. But ya see, Ace, if ya beat up ev'ry small time bandit and pirate that comes yellin' your way, all you'll have to show for it is property damage, a bad reputation, and enemies nippin' at your heels, barkin' for revenge and houndin' your steps. 'S a real lonely way to live."

At those words, all three boys stiffened, sharing a look. With a bend of her knees, Banchina sat on the gangplank, seemingly getting comfortable, and gestured for the boys to do the same. The three mirrored her, taking seats on a grassy knoll.

"Sometimes, it takes more courage not to fight, since you'll come across some people who aren't even worth your time or fists," she continued. "After all, there'll always be people who wanna feel like they're the next big thing. If you fight 'em, then what? People don't take kindly to bein' humiliated, 'specially by kids." She smirked knowingly at them, and Ace looked away, embarrassed and more than a little angry at how much her words seemed to hit home. Sabo had opened his mouth to retort, but closed it again once he noticed Luffy's expression. The boat fairy had a look of seriousness about him, and his attention was focused fully on Banchina. Sabo couldn't remember ever seeing the hyperactive little spirit be this still and silent for so long; with how actively he was listening, Sabo could practically envision the boat spirit committing Banchina's words to memory.

"But then again…" she started, and Ace looked back to her, less angry and a little more wary than before, as if slightly afraid of what else she was about to reveal. "Sometimes… you gotta fight, 'cause sometimes, it ain't about you." From behind her, she took out a worn wooden mallet, turning it over in her hands. As the boys looked, they could see nicks and divots in the wood, and some parts where the wood seemed to have been replaced entirely. "It's stuff kiddos like you shouldn't have to worry 'bout 'til you're older. Just know that Shanks did what he did 'cause he didn't wanna start any trouble for Miss Makino, or for you kids."

"We could have protected ourselves," Ace murmured angrily. Banchina eyed him, then sighed and gave a little smile. "I'm sure ya could've. But what about Miss Makino?" All three boys drew in a breath, then looked away as the veteran klabautermann's words sunk in. Satisfied that she'd made her point, Banchina stood up, and motioned for them to come closer. The three got up and walked over to her, and she gently placed her palms on Ace's hair and Sabo's hat, doing her best to emulate the feeling of patting their heads. "You'll figure it out, I'm sure o' that." Ace and Sabo sniffed, for once at a loss for words as she withdrew her hands.

"Now, why don't you boys get going. Little Luffy needs to get home before his time away from his boat is up." The three nodded, small smiles starting to form on their faces.

Ace coughed. "Could you… tell Shanks we'll be back tomorrow?" he asked, a light blush erupting across his cheeks.

Banchina smiled, and Ace felt a little ember of warmth flicker in his stomach in response, although his embarrassed blush had yet to recede. "'Course I will. You all get back to yer boat safe, ok?"

"We will!" Luffy cheered loudly, following closely behind Ace who had suddenly dashed away, making a beeline for the relative safety of his ship. Sabo was hot on their heels, smiling to himself as he thought about all he'd heard.

Banchina waved until they were out of sight, watching the kids with no small measure of fondness as they ran laughing through the sand. As her own crew returned to the deck, Shanks laughing his head off at some joke Lucky Roo made and Benn sighing at his captain's antics, she caught Yasopp's eye and smiled, thinking of just how lucky she was that she and her guy had ended up with such a good captain.

**I thought long and hard about this chapter because it seemed like too much explanation through talking compared to the "explanation through action" of the original manga, but I also figured that having some context for both this and Shanks' future actions (spoiler: there be a sea king) would help Ace get to know the man a little better, and maybe put into words what Oda put into drawings. So, I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for all of your comments and kudos! I know I don't respond to absolutely everybody but please know that I read all of your comments and cannot thank you enough for your support :)**


	6. The First Farewell

**A/N: HELLO everyone! I know it's been several months since the last chapter was posted, but I got super into Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and also got a partner since then (hi honey! 3) so life has been very busy. However! I have not and will not give up on this story, and I even have Chapter 7 all written out; it just needs some tweaking. Please enjoy this update; more to come soon!**

**TW: mentions of canonical child abuse in the form of World's Worst Grandpa Garp the Fist.**

After about a week, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy quickly fell into a now-familiar routine of catching their meals, bringing some to Dadan and her bandits, and then hightailing it to Party's Bar to meet with Shanks and his crew. Ace and Sabo were surprised at how quickly they had warmed up to the pirates, but hearing tales about their adventures and learning how to fleece a bunch of grown men out of their money was certainly the most fun they'd had since building Luffy. They had asked him several times if he could take them out sailing with him, but he laughed off their pleas, instead choosing to successfully distract them with stories from his travels. He had tried telling them of Gold Roger, but the first time he had, Ace had shouted "NO!" so suddenly and forcefully that the entire bar fell silent for a moment before Shanks launched into a completely new tale, causing the other pirates to go back to what they were doing, but Shanks kept a close eye on Ace since then, his boisterous drunkenness contrasting with the keen eye that had settled on the black-haired boy. As the days passed, the trio managed to get some more information out of the crew. They quickly learned that Shanks had actually been using Dawn Island as his base for about a year now, taking his crew around the East Blue to find that certain someone he had mentioned some time ago, but no matter how much they asked, he wouldn't tell them who.

"Sorry, but no amount of begging or booze is gonna make me unzip these lips," he said with a laugh, winking at them fondly. "Besides… it's for the best that they aren't a public figure. I'm just glad they're alive." He locked eyes with Ace as he said that, and the boy felt his cheeks burn. No way Shanks was talking about _him, _right? Nah, couldn't be. Besides, it wasn't like he and Shanks shared any sort of real connection beyond the fact that Ace was begrudgingly starting to like him. Thankfully, Shanks soon turned his gaze away to stare at his other assembled crewmates, a smile on his lips. "Well, that being said, we're going to ship out soon."

"WHAT?!" echoed three young voices, Luffy running over from where he'd been listening to Yasopp blab about his own son as Ace and Sabo stared askance at the veteran pirate. Makino and Shanks laughed as Benn shook his head with a smile.

"Sorry kiddos, but we've gotta head out. Can't stay in one place for too long; that's the way of the pirate," Shanks answered with a grin.

"Besides, we don't want to cause this village any sort of trouble while we're here," Benn explained, snuffing out one of his ever-present cigarettes in an ashtray. "Garp the Fist protects this island and if he finds out we were here, he won't be too happy."

Ace and Sabo shuddered in agreement, while Luffy mostly just looked confused. "Who's Carp the Fish? Can you eat him?"

Ace and Sabo turned to him, pained looks on their faces, as Makino and Shanks' faces slowly morphed into twin expressions of incredulity. "No, Luffy, you can't," Ace replied with a sigh. "We'll tell you later, Lu," Sabo deflected.

Shanks couldn't hold it back anymore; he burst into laughter, every assembled pirate looking over to see what could possibly have him laughing so hard. "Oh MAN! Something trying to _eat _Garp the Fist? Now _that _I would pay money to see."

The rest of the pirates also broke into uproarious laughter, the noise carrying out of the bar and all throughout the town. "Oh my Oda, what a card!" "This kid is a riot!" "That's comedy gold!"

Luffy cocked his head, not seeing what was so funny, as Sabo just sighed and Ace looked like he wanted to punch something. "Right, see what's so funny about him when you have to live with knowing that he could appear at any time, any day, and beat you senseless!" he snapped, hands curling into tight fists.

Immediately, the noise in the bar stopped. The sudden transition from loud joviality to dead calm was almost eerie. Shanks fixed him with an unreadable expression. "...He does what?"

Ace snorted. "Yeah, he shows up whenever he feels like, without calling, and comes up the mountain to 'train us'. More like beat us silly, if you ask me."

"Yeah," Sabo nodded in agreement. "Ever since I started hanging out with Ace when we were 5, whenever his grandpa would come, he'd tell me to hide but Garp always found us. Then he'd 'train' us both until we were practically dead."

Shanks' eyes narrowed at their comments. Makino fixed them both with a sad expression, and Ace's angry stare quickly melted. "...It's ok, Makino," he said hesitantly, lifting his head to meet her eyes. "It's not your fault. You tried to ask him to let us live down here and he wouldn't, so you always come help patch us up."

"He's right," Sabo nodded, giving her a wide smile. "You're the nicest person in the village! No, on this whole island." Makino simply closed her eyes, tears starting to trickle down her face. She gently placed her hands on their heads, and the boys couldn't help but smile as she tousled their hair lovingly. Shanks looked on, his anger seeming to dim somewhat, although he looked more thoughtful than anything.

"I see. Well, thanks for letting us know," he replied, turning to Makino. They shared an unreadable look before Shanks stood up from the barstool, his men following suit. He held out his hand to Ace. "Glad to meet you, Ace. Don't worry, you'll be seeing me again." Once again, Ace was taken aback by the sheer amount of _warmth _in the man's tone, and could only wonder what he knew that Ace didn't for him to have such affection for some feral kid. He tentatively reached for Shanks' hand, giving it a shake but saying nothing more. Shanks then offered his hand to Sabo. "Good to meet you too, Sabo. You've been asking some mighty fine questions, and I have no doubt you'll become a great sailor in your own right." Sabo shook his hand in an even, firm grip, giving a single proper shake, and a look of surprise crossed Shanks' face before it smoothed back out into his trademark grin. He finally turned to Luffy. "And it was nice to meet you too, little Bulwark! Keep them safe now, y'hear?"

The raincoat-clad spirit, who had been surprisingly silent for the past several minutes, grinned and it was like the sun shone out of his smile as their eyes met, some kind of understanding having passed between them. "You can count on me, Shanks!" The pirate nodded in response.

"Alright, then! Until next time!" he called, and he strode out of the bar, his crew following suit. The trio watched them go from the window of the bar, Makino's hands slowly rubbing circles into Ace and Sabo's shoulders as tears streamed down the trio's faces, the two humans wordlessly agreeing that showing weakness was ok just this once.


	7. Midnight Hours

It had been one month since Ace, Sabo, and Luffy had said farewell to Shanks, and unfortunately, a particularly persistent rainy season, along with the necessary repairs to their treehouse, kept causing the two boys to postpone any further seaside adventures. However, even a squall wasn't nearly enough to keep them away from Luffy, and the two often waited out the storms aboard their ship, tucked away in the cozy cave near the beach, and brought pillows and sleeping bags with them so that they could camp out on the deck if need be.

In that time, the two friends had started to talk more with their boat fairy, telling him more about their island and the creatures on it, and Luffy would "oooooh" and "ahhhhh" at the notions of lions as big as his entire hull and bears whose claws could cut ribbons through the rigging. Sabo started bringing books aboard the ship and spent hours showing Luffy pictures of what the lions and tigers and bears actually looked like, causing the klabautermann to burst into laughter as every animal he saw was more weird-looking than the last. They also told him stories of Dadan, Mayor Woop Slap, and the other people of Foosha Village, and eventually, they hesitantly told Luffy more about their adoptive grandfather, who was "just as strong as a bear and twice as hairy." Luffy hadn't been too happy when they had firmly denied his requests for them to eat the man, but under the pressure of his puppy dog eyes and irresistible pout, they promised that next time they visited the village, they would bring him back a souvenir instead. That seemed to cheer him up long enough for the two to distract him with another story, preferably about pirates.

Since meeting Shanks and his crew, the young klabautermann seemed to have developed a fascination with pirates, and begged for more and more stories about them. Ace and Sabo did their best to tell him some of the more well-known tales, and Sabo eventually procured a book of famous pirate stories and songs that the two would read to the enraptured ship spirit. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Luffy was most interested in anything to do with Shanks, and could be heard humming Binks' Sake long after the sun went down.

One night found the two boys and their boat spirit laying on the deck of the Luffy, staring up into the endless starry skies of the first tranquil, clear evening they'd had in quite a while. They had brought the boat out of the cave, attaching it to an extra-long rope that they then secured to the sturdy stalagmites inside the cave mouth. A small, well-contained fire was comfortably crackling on the deck, and the boys were curled up in their sleeping bags, enjoying the scent of sea salt in the air as they swapped more stories of their adventures.

"–So then we run out of the restaurant, and the owner is yelling at us for not paying, and Ace has an entire lamb shank in his mouth that he refuses to spit out! He looked like he would rather choke than risk losing the food!" Sabo laughed as Ace groaned in embarrassment, clearly reliving the memory.

"But Sab, it was soooooooo good! You would've done the same thing!"

His best friend just chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, somehow I doubt that."

Luffy was laughing loudly, his grin overtaking his face. "I bet he looked really funny!"

Sabo grinned in response. "Yeah, it was great. His cheeks were all puffed up like a chipmunk. It was hilarious."

Luffy's laughter subsided as he looked at Sabo quizzically. "Hill-air…"

"Oh. Hilarious. It means really, really funny."

"Ah! Ok. Mystery solved."

Ace just shook his head. Anything that he and Sabo couldn't easily explain was deemed a "mystery" by the curious klabautermann, and while it was nice to teach him things, it was also somewhat sad just how ignorant the spirit was. He wished Luffy was a little more wise to the ways of the world, but then again, if he knew what was in it… He shook his head again, giving a small sigh. If he was being honest with himself, he wished he could share Luffy's bright outlook on life, but he had seen and heard too much to share in that blissful optimism. He rolled up in his sleeping bag, suddenly feeling a little cold, and shifted until he found a good position. "Anyway, it's late. Let's sleep."

Sabo shot him a concerned look, but when he ignored it, the other just sighed and grabbed a bucket of water, dousing their flame. "'Night Ace."

"G'night Sabo."

"'Night, Luffy."

"'Night, Sabo! 'Night Ace!"

"G'night, Luffy. Oh, and Luffy?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't stare at us while we're sleeping. It's weird."

"Oh. Ok."

After a few hours, Ace's eyes snapped open. He sighed and sat up, rubbing a hand down his face. It was far too early for him to be awake, and yet here he was, sleep eluding him once more. As quietly as he could, so as not to wake Sabo, he freed himself from his sleeping bag and stood at the bow of the ship, facing out toward the ocean and silently watching the moon. A minute later, two sandaled feet pattered over to him, and the red-clad klabautermann came over, standing next to him in silence. Ace didn't bother looking over.

"What d'ya want?"

"Nothin'. What do YOU want?"

The seemingly innocuous question threw him for a loop. He wanted lots of things; to be free, to be out from under his father's shadow, to have an answer to the greatest question he'd ever known, to have enough money to travel, to be a pirate… and yet, in the moment, he said none of those. Instead, his traitorous tongue decided to answer all by itself.

"I want to be loved."

"…"

The cacophonous silence was deafening. He wished he could just take the words back, but there was so much in what he had (and hadn't) said that they just lay there, raw and bleeding out on the deck.

The klabautermann smiled. "Well, me n' Sabo love you, so that's a start!"

Ace quickly turned to face the spirit, neck twinging in protest. His lips moved as if to speak, but no sound came out for several moments until finally he could slot his thoughts into place. "B…but my dad, he's…"

"Gold Roger, right? The Pirate King?"

If Ace was struggling to find words before, he was rendered speechless now, only a squeak managing to escape him. "Y-you knew?"

Luffy picked his nose. "Yeah, 'course I knew. When you wished on me, you wished to be remembered for bein' yourself, not Gold Roger's kid, and Sabo's books have lots and lots of stories 'bout the guy. I'm also pretty sure Sabo already figured it out 'cause he's smart like that and you talk about it in your sleep."

Luffy leaned on the railing, staring deeply into Ace's eyes. As if hypnotized, Ace found that he couldn't look away. "Me n' Sabo, we don't care who your dad is. Ace is Ace, and we love Ace for who he is. I don't even know your dad, an' even if I think he's cool 'cause Shanks had lotsa stories about how he was the freest and I like freedom lots-yeah, he told us those whenever you left to go hunt-I like Ace more 'cause you made me and loved me enough to make me appear and you talk to me and tell me about stuff and don't let me be lonely and I like talking to you, so… yeah. I love you. And Sabo does too. So that makes two!" Luffy grinned, his trademark smile stretching across his face, practically reflecting the light of the moon.

Ace could feel tears starting to form and he shook them away. "I…it really would be better if I was around? You really want me here?"

Luffy took his hand and held it loosely, and although Ace couldn't physically touch the spirit, he could almost feel the soulful warmth he had come to associate with the little klabautermann. "Yeah. Being lonely is lots worse than being hurt. I know what being lonely feels like through your wish, but also 'cause you guys don't stay here all day and some days you can't come at all." Ace felt a twinge of guilt at that, but Luffy gently put his ethereal hand over Ace's own in a gesture of comfort. "But it's ok, 'cause you also make sure I don't have to feel that way for long, so that's nice. And I don't want you to be lonely either. You have us now!"

Ace could feel a small smile creeping onto his face, and he wiped away more tears. "…Thanks, Lu. I'm glad you're here." A yawn suddenly escaped him, and he blinked in surprise. "Oh, uh… guess I should go to bed. 'Night. Again." He turned and went back to his sleeping bag, getting in and finding the right spot.

As he drifted off to sleep, he could have sworn he felt a gentle kiss pressed to his forehead, and a laughing voice saying that he was glad Ace was here too.


End file.
